MLA Annual Conference: Returning to Fully In-Person in 2027
Submitted by: Katrina Holland, MLA Executive Director, and Kate Flewelling, MLA Treasurer
During the official invitation to MLA ’27, we shared an important announcement with attendees regarding MLA’s decision to move away from a fully hybrid Annual Conference. In the spirit of transparency, we’d like to provide additional background and share how we came to the decision.
Since 2022, MLA has worked hard to provide members who were unable to travel to the Annual Conference an online option that combined elements of the in-person event in a virtual delivery mechanism. Each year we offered the hybrid option we evaluated the performance. Three main factors were drivers in our decision to move away from a hybrid meeting model. We discuss each of them below.
1. Member Feedback and Participation Trends
Since 2023, participation in the hybrid registration option for the Annual Conference has declined from 528 to 134. In addition, the number of virtual lightning talk presentations went from 65 to 19. For the last 3 years, registration and participation have sharply decreased. Feedback also identified ongoing challenges with the hybrid experience, including technical difficulties and access issues for remote participants. Members attend MLA to learn from colleagues, discover new products and services, engage with exhibitors, build professional networks, and have conversations that simply cannot be replicated online. Survey results from MLA ’26 highlighted the importance of content, networking opportunities, exhibits, and meaningful professional connections as key reasons members choose to attend.
2. Financial Stewardship Matters
As a member-driven association, MLA has a responsibility to invest resources where they create the greatest value for members. Producing a high-quality hybrid conference requires significant investments in technology, audiovisual services, streaming platforms, staffing, technical support, recording, and content management. MLA’s evaluation found that the financial, staffing, and technical resources required to support a hybrid conference have continued to grow while virtual participation has decreased, making the model increasingly difficult to sustain.
3. MLA’s Signature In-Person Gathering
Perhaps most importantly, the Annual Conference is MLA’s only major in-person association-wide event. Throughout the year, members have access to webinars, vConnections, virtual meetings, online learning opportunities, and recordings. MLA continues to provide a robust portfolio of virtual engagement options for members who cannot travel.
The Annual Conference serves a different purpose. It is the one time each year when members from across the profession come together face-to-face to learn, collaborate, celebrate achievements, welcome new colleagues, strengthen professional relationships, and shape the future of the association. It is where hallway conversations spark new ideas, caucuses and chapters build momentum, exhibitors connect directly with attendees, and members experience the energy of being part of a vibrant professional community. By concentrating on one delivery model, MLA can ensure a more consistent and higher-quality conference experience for all attendees.
Looking Ahead
While MLA is moving away from a fully hybrid conference model, access to conference content remains a priority. For MLA ’27 and beyond, recorded sessions and on-demand content will continue to provide opportunities for members to engage with educational content beyond the conference itself. This content will be available to purchase for a nominal fee.
Make Plans to Join Us
The future of the MLA Annual Conference is built around what makes our association strongest: connecting, learning, and growing together in person.
We know that attending a conference requires an investment of time and resources, but we also know the value that comes from being in the room. As MLA’s only annual in-person gathering, the conference remains a cornerstone of member engagement and professional connection. By coming together face-to-face, we strengthen not only our individual networks and knowledge, but also the collective future of our profession and our association.
We encourage every member to make plans now to join us at MLA ’27. Bring a colleague, present your work, reconnect with friends, meet new collaborators, explore emerging ideas, and help shape the future of health information professionals. Together, we can make MLA’s premier event more vibrant, impactful, and engaging than ever before.
We’ll see you in Denver.